The Lost Heir
by Wanderlust No Tsubasa
Summary: Naruto didn't know that his guardian wasn't a mere wizard who hated magic, the markings on his stomach weren't an ordinary spell and he wasn't a normal orphaned refugee of Whirlpool. His best friend had decided to help him to undo the spell, only to unfold many lost and forbidden mysteries. AU. Naruto-centric.
1. Chapter 1

OCT 2014: I'd appreciate if old readers would reread this story again because I am rewriting this story again. I'll be posting the next few chapters slowly throughout this month. November onwards, the chapter will be updated once or twice a month.

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_**A Naruto-centric AU story with Family, Friendship and Angst genres**_

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Disclaimer for the WHOLE story: I do not own Naruto and any other characters from any notable sources. Plots are my own. 

WARNING for the WHOLE story: Rated T for Profanities, Dark Theme, infrequent VAGUE hints of _Shounen-Ai_ from side characters _mostly _and _UNBETA'D_ _Chapters_. Yes, rated T due to unbeta'd too.

Nevertheless, please enjoy reading as much as I love writing this story.

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This story is dedicated to my irreplaceable good friend, _xeniarunex_ who has brought me into this fandom.

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Summary: Naruto didn't know that his guardian wasn't a mere wizard who hated magic, the markings on his stomach weren't an ordinary spell and he wasn't a normal orphaned refugee of Whirlpool. His best friend had decided to help him to undo the spell, only to unfold many lost and forbidden mysteries.

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**THE LOST HEIR**

by _Wanderlust No Tsubasa_

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PROLOGUE

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_He felt the wild whips of heat lashing on his blackened skin. He dug his fingers in frustration into the scorched earth, balling his fists and punched the ground hard as he growled angrily. He stared at his fists as lumps of earth dropped onto the ground. The soil was grey with ashes and he couldn't believe that it used to sprout beautiful flowers and soft green blades of grasses that danced with the wind. _

_He looked around him miserably, shaking his head in denial. Tears were streaming down his cheek, blotching his marred clothes and greyed soil. He knew this place by memory. It was the city park. Not long ago, a large playground was newly built here right in the middle of the city. It was colourful with ten different designs and lengths of slides. There was a big, shallow water fountain where little children loved to play in, splashing water at each other or sailing their little boats and rubber ducks. Sandboxes were built at two corners where every evening they would be filled with sandcastles and sand figurines. There were a jungle gym made out of colourful recycled tyres, many melody poles and small drum panels at one corner, various swings of different sizes and seats and a large, adventurous set of monkey bars. _

_It was his idea to build a children playground. It was just last month the place was finally opened for public. The playground was always filled with children and their parents or guardians, bringing warmth to his heart. He came by every week to watch the children play, feeling fulfilled and happy. He couldn't wait to be a father. His wife was due soon. He couldn't wait to bring his own child… children here too. _

_There was an explosion nearby and a loud hissing from the burning plastic broke his reverie. The wonderful children park was now replaced by seas of fire and the air was thick with burnt plastic stench. Crumbling buildings and fiery flames were all his devastated blue eyes could see._

_He stifled a sob as grief swelled in his chest. His lips trembled as the incident that ended the battle sank into his brilliant head. He couldn't collect his will to stand up and run away from the inferno._

_He saw an exit, but he just – didn't – care._

_It didn't matter to him that the thickening ashes in the air made him cough and it was getting harder to breathe._

_It didn't matter to him that his clothes were charred and tattered. Scalded skin peeked from beneath of what was left of his clothes._

_He clenched his jaw, closing his eyes that had lost its cheerful gleam as more tears wetted his cheek. His blonde head was throbbing in agony in his hands. The truth… the truth was too cruel for his sanity to withstand._

_He had won the battle, but he didn't feel victorious._

_Just hours ago the city was lively, like every other day. No one had seen this coming. _

_Not even him._

_The city was famous for having solely tall buildings, standing mighty as the reputation of their King's power that was well-known throughout the land. His blue eyes hardened at the sight before him. There was no evidence of whatever city it had before. Of whatever city he had built here. There were no tall buildings left raised as they were all in shambles and burning. If anything, he believed he was already dead and was thrown into hell._

"_Damn!" He punched the ground, hoping that his frustration would dissipate …but it didn't._

_Instead, he felt worse and the new throbbing pain made him realize that he wasn't dreaming. It made him realize that everything that was happening was real. This hell was reality. _

_He couldn't forgive himself for not being strong enough._

_He couldn't forgive himself for failing to protect what mattered most to him._

_A powerful young dark wizard had crossed their path today. That very wizard had heard what the country's sacred treasure could do and had risk anything to get hold of it._

_He remembered so vividly how the dark wizard's red eyes were glinting in malice as he paced towards him among the firestorm. The blazing heat made his long scarlet hair fluttered with grace. His fair skin was glowing with excitement. Dark formidable aura was shrouding his very being, leaving none to breathe at ease in his presence. The sight of the young wizard gave him horripilation. The teenaged wizard was deadly gorgeous even with the evil, knowing smirk he directed towards the blonde._

_Kyuubi was his name, 'Kyuubi no Kitsune' they called him. It was no wonder with those mops of red hair that looked like elegant whipping tails of the ancient mythical beast and the strength he possessed was as par too that he was given the name. Some believed that he was the incarnation of the beast itself. He was a prodigy wizard and had mastered powerful sorceries at the tender age of nine._

_The battle had been dragged on terribly long until the young wizard tripped on the slippery, bloody stones out of exhaustion. The weakening teenager was then bleeding profusely from the strike on his spleen and he was swaying at the verge of death. The blonde took this as an opportunity to give the final attack. _

_Before he manoeuvred to pierce the young wizard's heart, the latter managed to make a huge explosion with a spell. The blonde man was thrown a few yards away and landed hard on his back. He groaned in pain but he quickly stood upright again and looked around. He didn't have the time to take a breather because he knew every mistake like this was an opportunity for the other. He gasped when he realized that the teenager had a spell which he knew was deadly, was heading towards him. He knew he couldn't dodge it in time._

_The said sacred treasure was in his hand. His hand tightened at the hilt of the powerful sword that could be wielded only by his bloodline. His powers were long drained and he was using magic on mere will. He knew it would damage his body but it was his duty to protect this city, his county. Even if he managed to draw out the sword's potential, he couldn't do it fully. He wasn't the chosen master of the sword. Legend said that only those with great power could wield it to the fullest. Despite being one of the greatest wizards alive, the sword still didn't elect him as its master. It was the same for his father and his grandfather. It had been a long time since the sword had chosen its master._

_Suddenly, everything went by in a flash and he watched everything in utmost horror. Even the teenaged wizard was caught off-guard and he soon vanished, barely alive. _

_The blonde man was paralyzed on his feet, feeling disbelief and his face paled as what had happened sunk into his ingenious mind. Slowly, he fell on his knees. His unblinking gaze with unshed tears never moved from the spot where he saw a small baby had appeared ….and had disappeared, or did the infant got blown into shred because of the magic was too strong for his little body? _

_The man never knew. He wasn't sure. He didn't want to think about it. He doubted what he just saw. Here he was, wallowing himself in self-hatred and pain with all the memories of what had happened a while ago. The thought of the infant made him slouched even more as he shook bitterly, sobbing aloud hopelessly. _

_The sacred sword had finally chosen its master again after so long and burnt its seal on the pinkish-porcelain skin of its true wielder at the eleventh hour of the battle. The birth of the chosen master of the sword was supposedly a joyous event but it was very unfortunate that the little wielder was now gone forever._

_The blonde wizard buried his face into his dirty palms, grieving painfully._

_He was supposed to die, but fate had cursed him and allowed him live instead. _

_He was supposed to __**die**__. Not that child! The child was supposed to live on._

_A gentle hand was on his shoulder and he looked up to meet tearful teal eyes, looking as dreadful as he was or perhaps worst. The pregnant lump was gone and her dress was stained with dry red blood. She quickly threw herself into his open arms, her face buried in the curve of his neck. He could no longer hear the crackles of fire laughing at his ears, mocking him on how he was only a father for a mere moment and a lousy one at that. He concentrated hard on the sharp constant breaths of his beloved wife who was clinging onto him for comfort._

_They had won the war but it came with a terrible price: they both had lost something precious to them._

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TBC

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Thanks for reading. Review would be nice. –_Wanderlust_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own squat.

AU. Naruto-centric. NOT YAOI (_damn, why not?! JK_). I repeat, NARUTO-CENTRIC. Enjoy!

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Dawn had yet to greet the Fire country, but in _Konoha_, the capital city of Fire Country, there was only one person who was already wide-awake, dutifully cycling down the street with vigour.

He breathed aloud steadily, sweats trickling down his forehead to his chin. The back of his shirt darkened with perspirations but he didn't show any sign of stopping. The squeaks of his cycling broke the silence of the street as he passed by, catching stray leaves to flutter about along the way. He had one hand expertly throwing newspapers from doorstep to another, while another steered by years of experience in an alarming speed.

The seventeen years old teenager had done newspaper deliveries ever since he was little. He started delivering to a smaller area and soon, his boss had slowly expended his area of delivery until the boy one day had demanded to deliver to the whole city itself. His boss was against his outrageous request but soon given into his persistent pleaded.

He noted the weight of the newspaper bag had gotten lighter, a satisfied smile on his lips. There was only one more house left to deliver.

The scene changed dramatically as he took a sharp turn from the housing streets. The tall street lamps began to dim as the golden sunlight poured in. There were only tall Red Maple trees as he cycled down the boulevard. He never got tired being here. It was beautiful and he found himself smiling gently. Slowly, a huge mansion grew from the horizon.

He stopped once he reached the huge black gate. At the middle of the gate was the noble family's emblem in gold paint: a fan-like shaped. A similar larger emblem with precise colouring: silver gold and red rubies stood tall in the middle of the mansion's courtyard.

The Fire country was governed by the royal family, the Senju whose princess was now the Queen of the country. There were many noble families below her but only four were chosen to lead and given a state each to govern in her stead: the Hyuuga Duke of the East, the Uchiha Duke of the West, the Aburame Duke of the North and the Akimichi Duke of the South. Each of the main houses of the dukes sited at each respective corner of the city.

Under the new Queen the country which was once prospered and fell because of the war, risen up from the ashes again. Two countries were merged into one under her rule. The Queen and her dukes were like their predecessors, just and wise, yet the damage control the queen had to endure from the war and the opulence that bloomed thereafter had proven her being one of the best sovereigns in the history of Fire country. She had humbly said that it was with the help of her dukes that the country was where they were now. She was well-loved and admired by her people and allies. Everyone knew that the beautiful queen had her most trust towards the Uchiha as they had proven to be the country strongest pillar throughout her reign.

The teenager leant his bicycle at the side of the gate of the Uchiha mansion, sticking out the last newspaper he had to the awaiting butler. The butler threw him a disgusted look before he disappeared into the mansion.

The blond teenager merely shrugged unaffected. To the boy, it was a normal reaction he got from anyone whom he met every single day of his life. Sometimes people got more aggressive but he decided he would be contented with just a glare or having food thrown at him rather than becoming a punching bag for the drunken or something similar. When he was a child, he didn't understand their gazes and why it was directed to him with so blatantly. As he grew up, he then learnt that the three light whiskers-like scars on his face were the caused. It was said to be the mark of a demon child. He was horrified at first but his guardian told him that it was actually the result of a horrible spell-gone-wrong. He tried to correct the people's view but soon grew tired telling off others about it. He believed that it would be a miracle if he could be lucky enough to find a friend.

As he grew, he had known solitude and soon, luck had shone upon him. He chuckled silently and a thoughtful finger gently pressing on his lips as amusement bubbled in his chest.

His cerulean orbs flickered to a moving figure at the far corner of mansion's massive yard. His gaze followed the running teenager of his age, clad in sportswear. The teenager was the youngest son of the proud Uchiha clan. They were famous for their military force—strong, passionate and loyal to the Fire country. The raven-haired boy had a rank in the force as a Major, a feat for any seventeen years old, but his older brother, Uchiha Itachi was a Major General (four classes different than a Major) when he was his age, a prodigy.

Uchiha Sasuke felt prying eyes were on him and swivelled to meet the gaze. His pace remained steady and they shared a knowing look.

"Today," Naruto mouthed, knowing the other couldn't actually see him properly but he knew the message was delivered. With a nod and a brief smirk, Sasuke's handsome visage returned impassive again and looked ahead, concentrating in his daily morning jog.

Naruto let out a low sigh as he paced towards his bicycle. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't jealous of the raven-haired boy. He had everything he didn't—family, fame, and riches. Not that the blond was envious of those riches and fame, but he knew nothing about who he was or if his family was still alive or not. All he knew was his name was Naruto and he had a guardian who obviously was not blood-related to him.

He had tried to dig his past from his red-haired guardian but the man ignored his questions every time. Once, he was adamant enough to ask and suddenly the man acted so strangely for days that Naruto became so afraid of him and confused. Naruto didn't understand what had happened but he begged for forgiveness and promised he wouldn't ask anymore nor he would leave him. At least, his guardian turned normal as he ever knew him and whatever remaining will of knowing his real family had perished ever since. Naruto learnt through hard ways that he would never get his questions answered, thus he had stopped asking since then.

The golden sunray reflected on the boy's watch, catching his attention from his daydream. His eyes widened as he saw the time.

If he wasn't going to hurry back to the _Umino Publisher_ and make some quick groceries for breakfast, he was going to be late for school.

Naruto flinched upon the thought of his soon-to-be-awaken guardian with no breakfast on the table. It was far more horrifying than arriving late to school.

"Oh _damn, _Yuu-chan!"

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Naruto stood in the doorway for the whole five minutes, feeling speechless. He scrutinized every corner of the living room, figuring out with endless wild imaginations to crack the mystery on the awful mess in the living room. '_Was there an earthquake?'_ He placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head in disbelief, trying to ease the throbbing headache.

If only the old lady in the market hadn't been _so_ fussy choosing her groceries before it was his turn to pay, he would had reached home fifteen minutes ago on time.

Naruto decided that ignoring the chaos would be best for now and closed his eyes again, blocking his view from the eyesore mess of a living room. If it had been his younger self, he would have long storm into his guardian's room and screamed his lungs out, demanding what had happened.

With an audible sigh, he muttered a tired "I'm home." He picked up the groceries that fell from his hands upon sighting the outrageous mess. He then gestured his index finger of his free hand as he strode towards the kitchen with ease. The furniture and rugs magically flew from the floor, moving bumpily to its original places in a silent rhythm. Books whooshed in the air, mimicking fluttering butterflies and arranged themselves with grace into the shelves. A broom and a dustpan flew out from the closet and they dusted off any mess they could find on the floor. When the last piece of the vase had fixed itself like a puzzle piece on the table, the broom and the dustpan were last to enter back into the closet. The atmosphere in the living room became still and quiet again, hiding secrets of whatever mess it had once held so innocently.

The blond clucked his tongue. At least, if the things were solid things, he could always rearrange things back to how it was before in a snap of a finger. Naruto frowned at the messy puddle of water from the once-broken vase and there were some of the flowers stems snapped half—a mess he knew his magic couldn't clean up _yet_. He was terrible in nature manipulation spells. To gather the water back into the already fixed vase and regenerating the stems back weren't in his area of expertise. "YUU-CHAAAN!" he shouted, annoyance grew with his frustration.

"Shut it, brat." Naruto nearly jumped in fright. If it wasn't for the harsh language and the intentional gruff, anyone would had thought that the voice belonged to someone gentle. The thirty-three years old man yawned widely and remained unfazed under younger boy's hard glare. Some of his long red dishevelled hairs were sticking out at awkward angles. Despite that and him having light stubble, the man looked gorgeous and very young looking for a man in his thirties.

Yuu scratched his unclothed back with his left hand that soon stretched out to take the grocery bags from the blond.

"_No way_, I'll cook as usual," hissed Naruto acidly, pulling the bags away from his reach. An amused smile tugged the older man's lips.

"Ohh…" he chuckled mockingly, "…but we _did_ agree on if you reach home late, _I'll_ do the cooking."

The boy looked like he had swallowed a stone. Today, he knew that he would be going to school with diarrhoea and a terrible stomach ache. Kurama had an awful flaw in the cooking department despite his deceivingly good looks. One would think it would be his specialty in culinary but in Naruto's point of view, the man was the very epitome of the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'

"P-Please…" Naruto pleaded quietly. His voice tinged with desperation. Kurama, or nicknamed 'Yuu' by Naruto since he was a child, was the only person who could bring Naruto into this pathetic state and the man smirked.

"No." The red-haired man turned around, swiftly snatching the bags from the disappointed Naruto. "And no magic at home, brat," he reprimanded.

Naruto let out another groan. He knew that his guardian hated magic and had never seen him using one before. Even the house they were staying in was built _without magic_ by the man. He worked as a woodcutter, a handyman, and did woodcrafts on requests—in short, he was a jack of all trades.

Another smug was on Kurama's face as he glanced at the sulking boy. It amused him that he could tease him to no ends. He couldn't believe sometimes how fast the child grew up. It felt like yesterday that the boy was just a little baby cuddling in his very arms. Now, he was already at his chin level in height. '_Throw him another few more years, Naruto will definitely shoots pass me_.'

"Home-made meals are fundamental to a good family bond," Kurama said matter-of-factly as he reached the kitchen.

"Only _if_ home-made meals that _you_ make wouldn't kill me…!" growled the blond defensively.

"But you're still alive and kicking," Kurama pointed out, shrugging his shoulder lazily.

Naruto threw a nasty glare over his shoulder. "And for heaven's sake Yuu-chan, what happened here? Every time I reach home late, it always gets so messy."

The man simply shrugged again as he placed the shopping bags on the table. Little whips of silver glowing dust suddenly burst out from the bag and vanished soon after. Naruto had used a transformation magic and Kurama knew he had transformed into a flirty blonde girl with big boobs whenever he did groceries.

He sighed tiredly. Because of a pair of three thin scars on the boy's cheeks, people thought Naruto was a demon's child which wasn't true. Those scars weren't a mark of a demon's child, but they were actually a mark of a terrible curse. Curses varied in every sense and anyone who conjured it, but in Naruto's case—

There was a loud crashing sound from the living room. The younger boy had attempted to bring the water into the vase with magic and failing horribly because he heard Naruto cursing under his breath.

"NARUTO! I SAID NO MAGIC ALLOWED AT HOME!"

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Naruto groaned for the umpteenth time that day. His face lied flat on the long table of his classroom, his hands clutching on his stomach. A low rumble from his stomach, the blond let out another pained groan.

"Gosh Naruto, here, take this _please_, at least for _my_ sake. I feel like I'm the one who's in pain." A hand patted his shoulder and the boy peeked from the corner of an eye to see a pouch of pills waving in front of him. Naruto groaned in agony and gratitude, accepting the pouch.

"There you go," the boy trusted a bottle of water into Naruto's hand which Naruto took gratefully. The boy grinned amusingly when he saw the blond slapping his chest when he choked. Naruto then finished drinking with a satisfying '_ah_.'

"That really hits the spot, Kiba. Thanks." The boy named Kiba beamed.

"The pills are from Shika, you should thank him. I just couldn't take a second longer sitting beside you with a storm of rumbling noises …and that fart just now stinks like hell, man!" His sensitive nose cringed, remembering. "I think a few of our classmates died!" he accused, pointing at a couple of boys who fainted nearby.

Inuzuka Kiba and Naruto laughed heartily. Naruto might not have many friends but he knew he had good loyal friends.

Naruto liked Kiba. He was a great friend to be with along with Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru. His wild mop brown hair, black pointed eyes and prominent canine teeth complimented his clan's specialty: beast tamer. The Inuzuka had fang marking drawn on their cheek; Kiba's were red.

Suddenly, the classroom fell silent. Naruto turned to look just like everyone else—except for Shikamaru who didn't own even a speck of interest. He had his eyes closed, hands behind his head and two feet on the table.

Clicking heels echoed into the classroom as Uchiha Sasuke entered, straight-faced. One of the classroom's wall had a large decorated clothe with gold embroilment hung over it gave an air of royalty to the raven-haired teenager.

His expensive fountain pen clinking on the stone floor interrupted his pace, rippling a few gasps from the boys and high-pitched squeals from the girls who admired his very being. He was about to pick up his pen when a few girls broke his attempt. The prettier girl flashed him her best smile, hoping to catch his interest as she held out his pen to him.

Sasuke clicked his tongue, feeling annoyed. The girl intentionally brushed her fingers against his as he took the pen from her, earning another exasperated look from the raven-haired teenager. The girl stared at her hand as though it had turned gold.

A loud snicker caught his attention. Sasuke's black orbs met Naruto's cerulean. The tension suddenly intensified. Everyone knew that the Uchiha disliked the blond very much, yet Naruto remained unaffected under his death-glare. Sasuke noticed a timid girl who was sitting in front of Naruto, fidgeting bashfully. With a small tug on a side of his lips, he began to walk towards his fiancée, Hyuuga Hinata.

"Tsk, Hinata, can't you find any other seats where the air isn't polluted with filth?" The midnight blue-haired girl flinched slightly, pressing her knuckle on her lips as her light lavender eyes shied away from Naruto's face to Sasuke's shoes. A blush coloured her fair cheek when she made eye contact with the blond for a mere moment.

Naruto took the opportunity to kick Sasuke's chair when the raven-haired teenager was about to seat down. The noble teenager nearly missed his chair, uttering out a small yelp. He then threw an acidy glare at the laughing blond before dropping his bag to his side and grumpily taking a seat.

"Um, Sasuke-kun, I—I—you told me to get a seat n-near to N-Naru—," Sasuke coughed aloud into his fist, looking unperturbed to interrupt the faltering girl when he realized the Hyuuga heiress was about to reveal the truth about the seating arrangement.

"Don't be such a bastard, Uchiha," Naruto kicked Sasuke's chair again, dodging a spell casted by the raven-haired noble that hit a poor random classmate at the back of him. The unfortunate bystander fainted at once, sprouting mushrooms on his head.

Naruto took the noble by her hand, placing her hand gently in his. With a smile he knew was alluring enough, he spoke in the most charming tone, "Hinata m'lady, I'm very sorry for the impoliteness of my insufferable _asshole_ of a classmate—"

The wise Sarutobi Hiruzen, the headmaster of Konoha Wizardry and Witchcraft Academy, was taking a morning stroll down the corridor at the final year students section. He was contented that it was such a fine morning: streams of sunlight poured its warmth to the prestigious academy, the cool air carried the fresh sunrise scent from the forest around them, the undignified screaming and shouting from the disastrous classroom he passed by—_wait, what?_

The old man sped back to the classroom he just passed. His jaw fell upon the sight, feeling mystified.

The classroom was in havoc. Everyone was fighting, either by fists or by spells. Sparks of colours were everywhere as he saw some student morphed from an animal to another. He saw a girl turning from red to purple and to orange before falling flat on her back, frozen stiff. Papers and feathers were fluttering in the air, chairs crashing from one corner to another and the loud smash from a table flying through the blackboard startling him terribly. Before he could even speak, he saw two boys colliding with each other on the head. A huge dog (whom he knew belonged to one Inuzuka) did a twirl in the air, marking his territory (specifically on people), earning disgusted yelps from those who got peed on. Hiruzen swore he could hear a cheer of 'Uchiha, Naruto!' among the multitude noises from the crowd in the middle of the classroom.

With a snap of his finger, a loud long crackle of fireworks caught the senior students' attention. Their faces paled to meet the furious headmaster. He stormed towards the crowd and witnessed the two boys were still engaging in their fisticuffs.

"ENOUGH!" Hiruzen's voice boomed, throwing his hands to each side and the two boys flew apart. The classroom became dangerously still. His eyes glazed over the classroom, back straightening and his lips pursing into a line.

"I am very ashamed of you," his usual calm voice laced with disappointment. "As seniors, you should act properly and give good examples to your juniors." His eyes then shifted from paint-drenched Hinata who was standing in front of him timidly, and to Akimichi Choji who was still looking too huge for a human, then to Aburame Shino who was standing against the wall with his hands in his pocket and lastly, to the ruffled-looking Sasuke who was on the floor.

"I cannot believe that the future dukes of Fire country would join into this childish act," Hinata flinched remorsefully while Shino's eyebrow rose at the accusation as he did nothing. "May I ask who started it?" he asked with a sigh, his guts tingling with foretold knowledge.

Almost everyone had an accused finger to the blond. Naruto gasped defensively.

"It was Uchiha! He provokes me first!" It was his turn to point at the fuming raven-haired noble.

"I did not! You were the one who started it, you idiot!" retorted Sasuke, shaking his fist.

"Silent!" the old man bellowed again. The two boys glared at each other before looking away and a 'hmmp' from Naruto. Hiruzen rubbed his aching forehead, regretting that he didn't listened to his advisor to retire earlier.

"You are all not allowed to use magic outside the academy for a week," he declared as a small seal appeared on every student's wrist. The students groaned displeasingly, "As for Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun, I'd like you two to polish every book in the forbidden section in the library." The old man tapped knowingly at the corner of his right eye. "I'll know if you try to open any forbidden book there. Just polish and don't do anything else, understood?"

The two boys mumbled a quiet reply. A smile appeared on the headmaster's face.

"Sometimes, relying too much on magic makes a wizard –or a witch useless. I hope you will use this one week wisely, children." In a blink of an eye, the classroom changed back to how it was before. The headmaster left the class unnoticed.

Unaware by their classmates, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a meaningful look with a smile (a wide grin from Naruto) on their faces. They had the same thought in mind, oblivious by their classmates that the whole disaster was just an act from their part. A nod from the raven-haired noble, Naruto replied him with a quick wink: _Mission accomplished!_

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"S-Sa-_ah_- 'Suke… more–_ah_- mor—!" Another moan escaped Naruto's parted lips.

They were alone in the most secreted corner of the library. They weren't many people in the library. They were in the forbidden section with a barrier, hiding them from any prying eyes and ears.

Naruto licked his lower lip, biting it afterwards as he melted under the pleasurable touch of the raven-haired boy on his bared back. A sweat managed to trickle down his forehead to the crook of his neck. He failed again to drown another coming moan with a gulp. His cheek tainted with pink blush as he clicked his tongue, feeling embarrassed.

The noble ran a teasing finger down to his waist making the blond to shiver again. Sasuke couldn't help but to smile amusingly a little at his reaction. It was not every day that the young Uchiha get to do this to the shorter boy like that. "Oh god, s-so good! _There_, yes, there, A-ah…"

_SMACK!_

"Can you please sound less obscene? Be quiet and let me massage your back peacefully," Sasuke snapped, zeroing a punch on his best friend's shoulder.

The blond pouted, muttering, "…it's your fault that you kicked me so hard. Now my back's all sore..."

"Shut up, Naru." Sasuke pressed on the huge bruise on his back and the boy muffled a painful scream.

"What the hell, Sas'ke? That hurts like shit! _Fuck_!" Naruto groaned in pain, rubbing his back tenderly. He threw a grudging glare at the noble teenager. "You should have held back those kicks and punches, Sas', _because I did_."

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly, hiding his growing sense of guilt. He took a generous amount of healing cream and massaged it on Naruto's back. Slowly, he could see the bruises began to disappear, a little too fast than stated on the cream's bottle. Sasuke had known that Naruto's body could heal at a very astonishing rate since they were kids. He knew that every wizard had his own specialty.

The Uchiha's bloodline limit was the eyes called Sharingan that could see through any magical spell, speeds and moves, and then able to copy for their own use—which was one of major reasons why his family was a noble. The other main reason was because his ancestor was one of the founders of the country. Sasuke had assumed that super healing would be Naruto's bloodline limit and it was rare.

Being among the numerous ten meters tall Mahogany shelves, the two boys looked like dwarves. Only rivulets of sunlight that bathed in through the window glass from the complex design high ceiling brightened the library. Supposedly, they were to polish the books there, but as an Uchiha, Sasuke easily broke through the seal and they both let their magic to do their job for them. They had another mission in mind to accomplish, given by their only witch teammate, Haruno Sakura who was currently studying under the Fire country's royal Queen, Tsunade Senju as a healer apprentice.

"So," Naruto piped up after walking around for the whole five minutes. "What did Sakura-chan told us to find again?" He sighed, noting how many books they had to get through that day. He wondered if they could even finish the whole section by the end of the week. With a hand on the shelf and his eyes closed, he concentrated on his magical energy.

"Spells to break forbidden spells, curses, foolish spells, anything that hinted on removing spells or curses of any sorts, something close to—"

"Okay," answered Naruto immediately. Sasuke stared at him attentively before activating the Uchiha Bloodline limit to study his best friend's magical power.

The noble gasped aloud. The area Naruto had covered was so vast, that if to compare to his own, his would barely filled one fifth of Naruto's. Jealousy and admiration swelled in his chest. The blond's power seemed almost boundless. He wished he had that too.

Naruto had conducted a search with a high-class technique where he could find an object by just feeling its presence. He could hear rapid whispers quoting from the books, a mere moment of deafening scream from a book about torture, a crackle of maniacal laughter from the book about worst psychotic wizards ever lived, and it was not long before a once familiar female voice suddenly piped up in a hushed and alarmed tone, "Uzu—I _N—i—e _Na—uto."

A gush of overpowering magical energy from the voice began to envelope his very being. Suddenly, the energy spiked into his head and gave him an excruciating headache. Naruto screamed a loud, agonizing scream.

Startled, Sasuke threw the book in his hand and ran towards the blonde, "Naruto!"

Naruto was panting hard, slouching against the shelf to support his weight. His hands were shaking horribly, gripping his hair and his clothes began to drench in sweat. Sasuke leaned him against his shoulder.

"_Uzu—I Na—e 'ruto"_ Naruto screamed again, his head thrown back and his eyes widened as he stared erratically at the ceiling above. Something was burning inside him but he couldn't pinpoint it because his whole body ached in agony.

"Naruto! What's wrong?" Naruto could barely hear Sasuke's voice. It was distant and fading. He knew his best friend was beside him, he could feel him but he couldn't see anything. He belatedly realized that he was blind. His head felt like it was torn apart and his eyes were going to pop out from the socket anytime soon.

Sasuke's sharingan blared to life and he saw that Naruto still had the searching spell on but it was fluctuating and unstable. "Let go of the spell, Naruto! Let it go!" he said over and over again, trying to shake Naruto to consciousness. It wasn't long before the spell was broken. Sasuke didn't know if it was broken because of Naruto had heard him and fainted or the spell was too overwhelming that Naruto had passed out. Sasuke laid him down and placed his head on a pile of book as a make-shift pillow. The raven-haired boy then placed both of Naruto's feet on the chair and he casted a healing spell he learnt from his female teammate.

"Where's Sakura when we need her?" Sasuke rasped and his frustration grew by the minute. He shook the blonde to wake. He was breathing too shallowly and his face was too pale. The young Uchiha knew that his spell was not as good as Sakura's but at least Naruto looked slightly better than before, "Breathe Naruto, breathe," he prayed, a hand rubbing on Naruto's chest as the blonde was stirring. Gulping in a large amount of air, Naruto then realized how much oxygen he was lacking.

Slowly, Naruto eyes fluttered open and he gained his sight back, just as the pain in his head subsided. A pair of worried black eyes was staring back at him, downcast. The suppressing feeling on his chest lifted and the burning pain on his abs had dissipated.

"Naruto?" The noble's voice soaked in clear distress for his friend.

Naruto found his voice back although it was shaky when he finally spoke, "I-I-I'm fine, 'Sas…" Naruto attempted to sit up right as Sasuke fed him a small chunks of chocolate which he fortunately kept in his pocket earlier.

"What happened?" Sasuke stared at him ominously, shifting the blond to lean against the shelf. Naruto closed his eyes and his whitened lips slowly coloured cerise again—a good recovery sign.

"I-I I'm not sure… I'm not sure what it was but I think there's something o-out there… as though it was calling m-me." Sasuke wanted to ask but his obvious hesitation made Naruto feeling annoyed.

"I'm not crazy, Sas'ke," The blond rolled his eyes and got on his two feet carefully. He wasn't steady enough and Sasuke's attempts to keep him seated again was somewhat aggravating, "Come, I'll show you."

Naruto was deep in thought as he walked down the corridor. He lightly placed the searching spell, enough to probe the area but not enough for the energy to claw back towards him. He could feel the strong energy was desperately trying to grasp onto his spell and wrap over him again. Whatever it was, it felt warm yet overwhelming, something so familiar but he couldn't put his finger on any memories he could recall. He felt like he would know something very important if he were to see it, something so precious …something he thought was long lost.

Sasuke felt uncomfortable when his best friend was being abnormally quiet. "Naru? Where are we going?"

There was no reply.

Sasuke chewed on his lips. Whatever was going through Naruto's head, he wished he could help his best friend. He decided to give the blond a little more time as he followed behind him, but it was getting even more nerve-wreaking to not ask as they got deeper into a section where the wide passage became even narrower and dimmer.

"Naruto…" Naruto heard Sasuke's hushed voice laced with concern, but Naruto remained quiet. He could feel the pull of the said energy becoming palpable with each hurried step. His paces unconsciously hastened and they started to run.

The urge to know what awaited him at the end of the goal outwitted all other emotions when he entered the second last corridor towards the magical energy.

After turning at a sharp corner, he stopped abruptly causing Sasuke to almost crash into him. Their quick breaths echoed back from the closeness of the shelves. The force he felt was coming from the end of the corridor. The sunlight barely reached in this part of the library. Only the fluttering light from the lone candle nearby was the only source that lit the place.

Naruto eyes were transfixed on the wall. The energy made his skin tingled strangely, as though they were calling to him …desperately.

Their eyes widened when the wall was spilt half and bright lights emerged from the crack. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated. Naruto felt at his abs was starting to burn again, but his curiosity had taken the better out of him.

They broke into a run. Naruto could feel all his questions and doubts he had for his entire life would be answered soon, here, by whatever that gave out that blinding lights. He could feel the magical energy starting to cloak him again. He threw an arm at the blinding light as he approached closer towards it.

"Naruto-kun? Sasuke-kun?" The two boys started alarmingly. Naruto tripped on his feet, causing Sasuke to fall on him in a painful _thud_.

"H-Headmaster…" Naruto heard Sasuke greeted. Naruto hastily looked at the end of the corridor. There were only walls and the burning sensation on his abs was gone again. Naruto threw a punch on the floor with rising frustration.

"I thought I sensed both of you opening a sacred—um, you boys were running like lunatics. Pray tell, why?" asked Hiruzen, looking terribly perturbed at the two boys.

The boys hesitated. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto who had a serious look on his face, his cerulean eyes downcast.

"'Naru? Are you alright?" A concern hand rubbed the other boy's shoulder. The headmaster's eyebrows rose with surprise to learn that the proud Uchiha was talking to the blond in such a kind tone and was addressing him so familiarly. He had sent them to detention many, many times and they barely spoke to each other whenever he came to dismiss them every time.

He wondered what had happened. He was curious to know how their friendship began. From the looks both boys shared, it was undivided understanding and trust for each other. He began to question what the fight they were having earlier that morning was. He would be surprised if that was an act but if it was, why did they do it? Naruto reassured his best friend with a wide grin, a hand at the back of his blond head.

"I'm fine, Sas'," He then turned to the headmaster. "Ah, jiji, what brings you here?" The old man studied his blond student carefully. Naruto was putting up a front. The headmaster smoothed his goatee with his fingers, thinking if he should pry into the matter or let it go for now.

"Hmm, I was thinking that's enough book polishing for today," he said, decided the matter to slide, "and oh, hands out." The two boys obediently hold out their hands at the old man. The old man gave a short tap on the back of their right hand at the same time and a slightly different seal from the one they had before appeared before their eyes, "I hope this time you'll find it harder to break the seal, Sasuke-kun." He gave a knowing smile at the noble as he did the same for Naruto.

"Aww, Jiji …" Naruto whined. The old man gave the young blond a tender rub on his shoulder. He had known the boy since the boy was a baby. It felt like yesterday when he learnt that a young mysterious stranger at his sixteen had arrived into the street of with a baby in his hand and settled at the end most of the city near the forest. They became the talk of the town for months.

Hiruzen doubted if the gossip had died off. The boy standing in front of him reminded him of someone he knew, but he knew this must be an awful coincidence, as though God had come to mock him with the boy's very presence. His smile turned bitter.

"You better leave now before it's too late. You don't want to be late for dinner, do you Naruto-kun?" Naruto gasped at the reminder, horror-struck.

"Ah!" he glanced quickly at his watch, "I _really _have to go_ now_, I'll see you tomorrow, Sas'ke-_teme_. Bye, jiji!" and before Sasuke could even breathe a retort, Naruto was already out of sight. The teenaged Uchiha snickered at the very thought of Kurama cooking dinner. He wondered if he should visit the blond to bring a secret midnight dinner later that night.

"I never knew that you boys are really close," Hiruzen spoke suddenly, breaking his musing with a start. Sasuke stiffened for a second before put on a face of indifference and folding his arms on his chest.

"I don't remember having an annoying person as a friend, headmaster." The old man chuckled amusingly.

"Whatever you say, Sasuke-kun… walk with me, will you?" The raven-haired noble complied. Hiruzen took a glance at the boy and smiled. He knew that the boy's physical body was here, but his mind wasn't. He was glad to see the seal he had given the two boys worked well. The power-nullifying seal he placed on the two boys this time was actually a special seal that only work to those who shared a very strong, trusting bond. Judging by the complexity and the growing size of the seal, it assured him that the boys shared deep trust for each other.

He wondered again what had happened between Naruto and the proud Sasuke that they now had such a good friendship. The raven-haired boy was known for his solitude, determination and arrogance, but for him to care so much for the blond, there must be a profound past behind them.

"Tsk, that _usuratonkachi_…" he heard the young boy mumbled quietly. He rubbed his goatee pleasingly, the boy _was_ thinking of his blond friend.

His smiling eyes immediately hardened with curiosity. He took a quick look at the wall where it was glowing a moment ago. He knew what was behind that wall and supposedly, he and very few others were the only people who know about the secret kept there. Even if one of them wanted to peek at that secret, they had to take down a few difficult S-class Whirlpool's seals that obviously the two boys had never learn. What made him confuse was why that secret would revealed itself before the two boys.

'_Was it because of Sasuke? Was his sharingan that powerful? Or perhaps… Naruto?'_ His wrinkles became more apparent at the thought of the blond teenager whom he knew had no prominent skills. He definitely couldn't make the secret to overt itself.

…but he knew well that even the Uchiha's Sharingan couldn't do that too, unless if you are an _Uzumaki_—

'_No. Impossible. He …_died_...'_ The headmaster mused mournfully, shaking his head as he remembered the broken state of the previous blonde king.

He traced his jade ring that had a shape of a vortex. A sad smile was on his face, remembering the bitter past. It was a terrible war against Akatsuki. The group had tried to bring down many strong countries by stealing powerful magical items and challenging themselves into duelling strong opponents. The Fire country was not spared from the group too but Akatsuki didn't manage to steal any magical items owned by the country. However, they learnt about the whereabouts of legendry Namikaze sword at the neighbouring country. The fate that had befallen on that country was terrible, but he was extremely grateful that the small yet once renowned Whirlpool country had merged with the Fire country as the smaller country was far beyond damaged. There were no disagreements from both sides as both countries had good relationships and bonded by political marriage for many generations. It made the Fire country even more powerful for having the Whirlpool refugees to be under their protection. Many other countries wanted to capture the refugees as Whirlpool was known for citizens who could live long and powerful wizards. Weakened, they were targets of hunters and assassins.

"You can leave now, Sasuke-kun. I'd like to see you try breaking _that_..." Hiruzen smiled at the teenager, tapping a finger on his wrist knowingly. Sasuke smiled back promptly before disappearing behind the door. The old man sighed tiredly and walked away to his office.

As wise as Hiruzen could be, the old man failed to notice that the teenager had left with a questioning look on his face and his Sharingan activated. The boy had noted a particular emblem in the light he and Naruto had seen earlier.

"What is a Whirlpool's ancient magic doing in here?" he wondered aloud, scratching his chin. _'And why do I have a feeling like this has something to do with Naruto anyway?'_

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TBC. Review would be nice.

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THE LOST HEIR OMAKE

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The news of Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto were having a detention for a week had reached to a certain pink-haired girl's ear. She was pleased to know that her teammates had succeeded in 'infiltrating' into the forbidden library without suspicion.

Haruno Sakura had just gotten an approval for two days break from her Master, Her Majesty Queen Senju Tsunade. She arrived in the library a few minutes ago to meet her two teammates for her secret research.

However, instead of meeting her teammates, she stood at the back of a bookshelf, flabbergasted. A quiet gulp didn't help her in calming her terrorizing trains of thought.

Sakura was known to have a huge crush on her handsome teammate, Sasuke, but being seventeen, she had long determined that brains and talents were indeed in need to court the boy—it was the reason why she had taken up to be a healer under the fearful Queen.

In addition, being in a team with Naruto and Sasuke for ten years, she knew that the two boys were best friends despite their public fighting and jeering. However, what she wasn't aware was to what extend did the two boys shared the bond.

"A-Ah… Sas'-Sas'ke… M-M-More…" The panting voice of Naruto sent another shiver down her spine. Her eyes widened, imagining wildly of what the two boys were doing. Her cheeks tinged in heavy blushes as she rooted on the ground, feeling disbelief.

Sasuke hissed a hush, and muttering quietly, "Stop being naughty, Naru…." A smacking sound followed by Naruto's breathless moan after that made the girl to gasp almost aloud. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Sakura had the urge to run—though she wasn't sure if she wanted to run to see what was actually going on between the two boys or to run far, far away from there.

"G-Good—ah, ah—so goo—ah—lower, 'Suke, lower!" Sakura chewed hard on her lips. _'W-wow, is S-Sasuke-kun that g-good?'_

"Like this?" she heard Sasuke asked alluringly.

"Yes, there—ah—" and there was a soft chuckle from the raven-haired boy. Sakura felt the blood rushing to her head, making her head spinning with heat steaming off her ears. Her face was crimson-red.

"Feels g-great, w-w—ah—where do you—ah—learn this? You're so—ah, skillful" '_SKILLFUL HE SAYS! SKILLFUUULL!'_ The thought of Sasuke can be so good in bed almost made her nosebleed. She pinched her nose immediately.

Sasuke chuckled again. "There's _nothing_ an Uchiha can't do," came his suave reply. That was it; Sakura fell on the floor, fainting as blood spurted out of her nose and bleeding nonstop.

Naruto started when he heard a loud sound from a corner.

"Oy, 'Suke-_teme_, did you hear that?" the blond's voice husked in alarm, glancing at the possible places where the sound might came from. Sasuke who was busy with massaging his best friend's back clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"Maybe that's just a cat or a book fell down," he answered exasperatedly.

"A cat? Really? How adorable! Here kitty, kitty, kitty…" He then gave out a yelp. Sasuke followed Naruto's horrified gaze. His massaging hands stopped at once.

There was a pool of blood, growing on the floor from the bookshelf. At the back of the shelf, they saw a hand crawling out to view, fingers clawing on the blood pool.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !" The two boys ran for their lives, believing that it was a ghost, leaving the poor girl behind.

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OMAKE END

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	3. Chapter 3

I was planning on updating last Sunday …but I had exams back-to-back. I'm sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy reading this. Please drop me a review at least! BTW, thank you to those who reviewed, followed and/or faved this story! Rewritten.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
>Rated T for language and hints of shonen-ai for side characters. AU. Naruto-centric.<p>

PS. I'll be updating one story at a time. I'm sorry but _The Uchiha's wife_ will have to wait for now.

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><p>X<p>

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There was a suspicious-looking man clad in a travelling cloak with his face hidden under the hood, arriving into a street of Konoha on a Friday evening. Many curious eyes glanced at the unfazed tall man, whispering terrible dark rumours. His big boots soundly paced on the paved roads and soon, he turned to a lesser friendly street.

The street was almost deserted and slightly dirty than the street he was before. At the dark corners of the place, his little eyes could see some shady men staring back at him. Being a huge man, he knew he could catch a lot of unwanted attention. Moreover, his oversized, bandage-wrapped sword on his back made him stood out even more.

He clicked his tongue, feeling annoyed. A small group of rowdy youngsters had their eyes on him. He smelt trouble coming when the meanest looking among them started to approach him with the others on the tow. Once they surrounded him, the haughty man took a step forward and asked, "Hand over your money if you wanna be safe, motherfucker."

A shark-toothy grin appeared on Hoshigaki Kisame's face.

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"Boy! One _mean_ gin rickey and caipirinha on the rocks, Table 3!" Zabuza Momochi barked.

"Got it," the underage part-timer nodded at his bulky-built boss, fishing out a highball glass and a lowball glass from the wall cupboard. Ignoring the anticipating gazes from the customers around him, he started to prepare them skillfully, putting up a show for them. If there were any place he could work freely other than _Umino Publisher_, it would be _Yuki Bar_. For an outcast like him, compared to the rowdy crowd in the bar, Naruto was a nobody.

Soon, the tiny bell on the door jingled as Kisame entered. He noted that the bar was having a full-house, mostly whom he knew they came because they liked the drinks Naruto specially prepared and the show he put on for them. An extra seat was placed at the bar top by the blond who noted the rare VIP customer.

Taking a seat, he tapped twice on the glossy black granite table top where Naruto soon placed his drink there.

"You look pleased, shark-fac—_ouch_!" Naruto whimpered when a hand slapped the back of his head.

"For goodness's sake, Naruto, don't give horrible nicknames to our customers," a beautiful effeminate boy scolded him lightly. Kisame grunted in gratitude. "Seriously, Naru-chan. You have no naming sense at all," Haku chuckled, cleaning the glass with a white towel. He held the glass high on his head, examining sharply with one keen eye if he missed a spot before placing it on the wall cupboard with the rest of the glasses. "If I were you, I'll call him 'Squidward,'" Haku bit his lips to suppress a laughter. Kisame's face fell sour at once.

"…of spongebob squarepants?" asked Naruto, his eyes shone with glee. They both stared at Kisame at once and burst out laughing. Kisame glared at the two boys, clearly didn't share their amusement of being compared to some… blue… grumpy… sea creature… His forehead scrunched in irritation.

Naruto placed another empty seat beside the fuming Kisame and wiped the tears off his eyes, snickering lightly. A handsome black haired man took the seat and chuckled amusingly.

"Hi _Squidward_," his velvety voice made Haku abruptly stop laughing and he swiftly dropped two elbows on the counter top in front of the man, staring dreamily with his face in his hands.

"Don't!" Kisame threw a glare that promise to kill and muttered, "Tsk, _weasel boy_." This time, it was Uchiha Itachi's turn to glare. A loud admiring sigh from Haku stole his attention to the boy.

"My drink," Itachi muttered sharply as he tapped on the table. Haku moaned dreamily and sighed again. His doe-eyes never left his face.

"Here you go, General," Naruto placed his drink in between them, giving him a short bow and pushed Haku off, making him tumbling off to the floor.

"Naruto!" Haku scowled, picking himself up from the floor. He threw an acid glare at the snickering blonde and gave a kick to his shin, which Naruto barely dodged.

"Naruto," Itachi curtly called. He took a sip, his face impassive and his eyes piercing. "What did I say about calling me that?" Naruto smiled apologetically, a hand at the back of his head. "I'm so—" Suddenly, with a shout of battle cry, Haku tackled Naruto on the floor. He scolded the blond about destroying his happiness to appreciate beautiful things, especially gorgeous eye-candy like 'Itachi-sama'. Noting Naruto's unrepentant look, he stopped talking and a sly grin was on his face. The dark haired boy shifted and sat on the blushing blonde suggestively. That earned a raised eyebrow from the twenty-seven years old Uchiha. He took another sip before turning to Kisame.

"So?" Itachi asked, looking at the older man expectantly. Kisame's gaze shifted from his drink to his friend, a sneer was on his lips.

"No 'how-are-you' or anything? Glad some things never change…" Kisame snickered before chugging down his drink and placed the empty glass in a loud thud. He gestured the dishevelled-looking Naruto for a refill. Smiling in triumph for winning the tickling battle against Haku, who was still on the floor, Naruto nodded at the man and took the glass.

"That – was – cheating – Naru-chan," Haku panted, trying to catch his breath after the long bout of hearty laughter.

Kisame watched as the boys' boss came in and smirked when Zabuza told Naruto off about looking presentable in front of their customers. Naruto stuck his tongue out once his boss walked towards Haku who was lying on the floor. Kisame wished he didn't see the light kiss on Zabuza's cheek given by Haku after he was pulled up by the larger man. He then saw Naruto was scowling as well, grumbling about how Haku looked even worse than he did and a bias _dinosaur _boss. Kisame snickered at the nickname.

"I can't linger, Ki," Itachi said quietly, swirling the fluid in his glass.

Kisame rolled his eyes, belatedly realizing that Itachi still had his hood on. "Yeah, I know. You're a General now. Big guy and a—"

"We're not here to talk about me, are we?" Itachi cut him off, his eyes narrowed slightly. There was a tinge of panic in his voice. "I – can't – linger."

Kisame took a large gulp before he spoke hurriedly in a hushed voice, "Akatsuki's on the move."

Itachi's dark eyes widened briefly at the mention of the name. Kisame ran a tired hand through his hair, exhaling wearily. Itachi didn't like his body language. "It's back again with stronger members. They are trying to get the originals back on the team. Since that crazy Deidara and bastard Sasori are working under you now, they can't trust them anymore. Everyone knows you destroyed Akatsuki." Itachi's eyes flickered momentarily to his lieutenant, sitting near the doorway. Sasori was listening—or perhaps, pretending to listen to the chatterbox Deidara who was sitting opposite of him, talking animatedly about explosions and arts. Itachi laced his fingers together, propping his elbows on the table. He pressed his lips against his fingers, thinking carefully. "What's their motive?"

Kisame had his eyebrows raised. 'A true hero of justice, indeed,' he mused. A smile graced his thin lips. He admired Itachi, especially when Itachi was the only person he couldn't defeat despite the gap of age difference. Itachi was barely eight when he was introduced as his partner and Kisame was twenty. It was humiliating at first, until he learnt what the young prodigy could do. They became the most fearsome duo during their two years' service in Akatsuki together before they brought it to ruin.

"The same old thing," Kisame missed the anger flashed red in Itachi's dark eyes and continued, "They believe _he's_ alive… somewhere…. That _leader _is the only person who can wield the Whirlpool's treasure." Itachi hissed at the thought, dismissing the curious look from the bystanders. The raven haired man sat closer to his companion.

"We all know that I have proven that no one else but the heir can wield—"

"The prince's dead. Gone, Itachi. There's no heir." Itachi folded his arms, giving him a perfect Uchiha glare.

"Even the King himself can't do it, why would anyone think that _Kyuubi _can?" Itachi's voice was low and harsh.

"Because he's Kyuubi!" Kisame simply said, almost aloud. People nearby stopped talking and stared at them fearfully. Some began to leave, placing their bills on the table and signalling for Naruto to take it. '_Funny,'_ Itachi thought sarcastically, '_he's gone for 17 years and yet people still fears his name.'_

"Alright ladies," Zabuza suddenly appeared in front of them, staring accusingly. "You ladies are scaring off me generous money-suppliers and that's no goody for me business." Itachi's eyebrow twitched at being referred as a lady, also placing his bills as he stood up.

"We're leaving." He gestured Kisame to follow suit with a nod of his head and a brief knowing glance.

"I heard they're trying to take you in too," Kisame whispered at Zabuza, catching Itachi attention. Itachi immediately stared at the man with his sharingan glaring. Zabuza gave them a scrutinized stare before fanning his hand at Kisame dismissively.

"Naaaah, not interested. I like my life now better," his voice went quiet; "They're persistent, always coming by here. Not doing me business good. I hope you'll do something about it, General. They even tried to recruit the blondie once, although it was so fun they said." His eyes narrowed as he hissed, "No one touches my staffs." Zabuza grunted displeasingly and then told them to come again, motioning Naruto to clean up.

"I still believe that the prince is alive somewhere," Itachi muttered, enough for the two men to hear. Zabuza gave him a doubtful shrug while Kisame shook his head in disbelief, feeling frustrated that the younger man was being 'delusional' as he always said. "…And that Kyuubi is with him all these while," Itachi continued confidently, earning incredulous looks from his companions. When Naruto approached them with a rug in his hands, they knew it was the end of discussion. Itachi gave a brief smile at Naruto before he pulled his hood lower, blocking out his face from any scrutinizing eyes.

"I've got to go," Itachi said tiredly once they walked out of the bar and the bell jingled at their departure. He waved Sasori not to follow him and the red-haired lieutenant sighed exasperatedly. He might had a day-off to get away from all the stress from the army but listening to the weaponry engineer talking was even more tiring than working on the field.

Sasori stifled a groan. He knew he should have slept in instead of complying in following Deidara out. He glared at his second cocktail Naruto had prepared for being too tempting. He had a strong urge to get drunk today.

Kisame held Itachi's arm, holding him in place. Now that they were out of prying ears, he could talk easier. His voice was hushed and low, enough for the younger man to hear, "The new Akatsuki leader is called Pain. He seems promising and powerful… Also, rumour says that they have proofs…," Kisame paused, pulling Itachi's hood to reveal his face a bit and carefully studying younger man's expression to what he was about to say, "…they have proofs on Kyuubi's whereabouts and …." Kisame hesitated for a while before he murmured in a breath, "…they believed that the prince is alive too." Itachi was staring at him scandalously. Kisame clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew that he had been strongly disagreeing on the possibilities that the prince was alive and had dismissed Itachi's views vehemently. "I know what you're thinking, Uchiha. I still don't want to believe because Kyuubi isn't a man who would stay put for long… but for them to move about so aggressively lately in the darkness, it must be real…_somehow_." His face creases with doubt as he spoke, "They are going to try, by any means, to get what they want. Even if it means they have to hold on to that small possibilities that the heir is alive. You know how Akatsuki works too."

Itachi grimaced, agreeing with Kisame. Akatsuki was notorious and to bring it down to ruin was a difficult and dangerous labour. He understood that he was no longer able to be a spy now that everyone knew his face and his name.

"Are you …going to do this?" Itachi asked, hiding his worry behind his stoic mask. Kisame nodded, "Only as a spy, only if you ask me to, General." His back straightened and shoulders pulled back, like a soldier. "I don't want those two idiots to join in as well. I'm the only one who's not working under you openly, 'tachi…" He gazed into the prodigy's eyes knowingly. Itachi understood that he was indeed the most perfect spy for this mission. He had a reputation as a lone roving swordsman and a formidable wizard, having no connection to the law or the lawless side.

Itachi let his mask slipped and he let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had lost too many companions, especially during the war against Akatsuki. As much as he was annoyed with the older man that stood before him, he was a good friend, loyal and durable. Itachi wanted him to join the army, to work with him and to settle down. He knew the man would be a valuable soldier for the country and a caring father, like how Kisame had cared for Itachi when he was a boy. However, Kisame was always a solitude man, seeking for adventures and living for the dangers. He wasn't meant to be in one place for long and live in peace.

"Just…" a rare, small smile was on his lips as Itachi looked up at his large friend hopefully, "…don't die, Kisame." A pleading hand was on Kisame's big forearm and gave it a firm squeeze before letting it go. The older man gave him a toothy grin, "I won't die easily, General." Itachi let out a breath in relief, unaware that he had held his breath for a while. "Everything I found is in here, General," Kisame passed a brown envelope to the prodigy who quickly placed it inside his own travelling cloak. He was impressed with the weight and thickness of the envelope.

Kisame abruptly swivelled around and began to walk away. He had his back on the younger man as he held up his hand. "Goodbye, Itachi. Thanks for everything," he bid with a wave of his hand, his voice was light and a little playful. He didn't miss the sharp gasp from the younger raven as he left. For nineteen years they had known each other, they never said their goodbyes whenever they parted ways, not until today.

Itachi stared at the leaving figure with a fleeting fear in his eyes before he gazed on the feet. His voice was quiet and sad. He knew Kisame couldn't hear him but he said it anyway, "Goodbye…" He prayed that he could see his friend again.

X

X

Naruto was doing manual labour to clean the tables while Haku was reading a book, tapping his feet to the soft tune from the radio as he used magic to do his part of the chores. _Yuki Bar _was finally empty and Naruto took a quick glance at the clock. It was almost one in the morning. He groaned at the stiffness of his neck. It was a tiresome day and he hadn't had enough sleep. He couldn't wait to go home and sleep as he had newspaper deliveries at five as usual, and sleep again after that as it was a Saturday.

He was stretching his limbs when he suddenly remembered the conversation he overheard between the General and Kisame. It wasn't loud enough for anyone close by to listen and the bar was quite noisy at the time, but Naruto had always been different than everyone else. He had very keen senses. He did wonder about his abilities and he believed that they were his bloodline limit, just as his best friend once told him when they were younger.

The conversation, he decided, was disturbing. He wondered what Akatsuki was and he mused on, "Who the hell was Kyuubi?" From the reaction he saw, the name seemed like a taboo. His eyes narrowed and a thoughtful finger was on his lip as he moved to another table to wipe. Naruto accidentally knocked over a glass causing it to fall on the floor with a loud crash.

"Boy! Concentrate! Another broken glass and I'll cut yer pay by half!" Zabuza barked from the store room. Naruto rolled his eyes, muttering about a stingy dinosaur and the glass could be fixed with magic.

"Naru-chan," a soft voice pacified his annoyance and a pair of hands was on his rigid shoulder, kneading expertly.

Naruto smiled reassuringly at Haku, "I'm fine." Gently pushing Haku's hands off him, he was about to clean up the mess when an arm stopped him.

"No, I'll get this. Actually, I'll finish up the rest. You can go home, Naru-chan."

"But, that _dinosaur_—" Naruto began as he pouted. Haku laughed, amused that Naruto was the only person who could get away unharmed for calling Zabuza with a silly nickname.

"No _but_s. You look awful, Naru," Haku caressed the dark circles under Naruto's left eye with a soothing thumb, his palm cupping his whisker-scarred cheek. "That _dinosaur_ might be the boss but I own this place. Plus," there was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he stared up at Naruto knowingly, "I'll _make_ him to agree."

The blond gulped and nodded curtly. He didn't want to know how or what Haku would do to make Zabuza let him off early, he had enough mental scars whenever it concerned the eighteen years old and the mid-thirty aged man. Naruto swore he would die young of heart attack one day because of them. "Thanks, Haku," Naruto gave him a sincere grin. Haku gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, earning him a blush, and also a dark glare from his boss.

"Anything for you, Naru-chan. You're my precious friend." Naruto smiled at his warmth. He felt so lucky to have such good, caring friends.

Naruto left after he bid them goodbyes, missing a glass thrown at him for calling Zabuza a dinosaur. The man stood beside the long-haired teenager as they watched him leave. There was a comfortable silence until Haku spoke, "I know you're worried about him. Naruto's strong. He'll always pull through anything."

Zabuza sighed, feeling slightly ashamed that his teenaged lover knew his inner thoughts. "He's a good boy. People are stupid for not seeing that."

Haku grinned at his confession, "I know," he pulled the taller man by his black uniform jacket, "_Now_, I told Naru-chan that I'll _make_ you to let him off early…" Zabuza's eyes widened for a split second and Haku knew there was a smirk on his half-covered face.

X

X

Naruto rasped in annoyance. He was standing in front of a twenty-four seven convenience store, belatedly realizing that he couldn't use transformation magic to do a late groceries shopping for midnight supper. He wanted to ask a favour from Haku, but he didn't dare to go back to the bar at the moment. Then again, he didn't like asking for help from his friends. He didn't like the pity looks he got from them, making him to feel unfortunate, especially from Sasuke.

His hand unconsciously balled into a fist. If Naruto had a choice, he'd rather if the raven-haired noble would just push him away like most people did. He didn't want him to get into any trouble for befriending him. 'Why couldn't that _teme_ just understand?' Sasuke was a nobleman, and he was an outcast. He had told Sasuke to keep their friendship a secret, which the raven reluctantly comply after so many fights they had.

Pouting, Naruto went home empty-handed. He remembered that he had some cups of instant ramen at home. His face brightened at once. Kurama disliked his addiction to ramen and had forced the blond to eat the innutritious food to the minimum. This was the perfect opportunity to eat his favourite noodle. He skipped all the way home, humming happily.

Their midnight supper was unusually quiet. Despite they had dinner earlier that day made by Kurama himself which was surprisingly tasty and that was rare; the man had decided to join to eat with Naruto again. Naruto knew his guardian hated to have a meal alone and disliked Naruto doing the same despite what time it was. Kurama never said it aloud but growing up with the man made him realized his silent gestures.

Kurama's crimson eyes shifted from his food, grimacing at the ramen cup, to the blond. The red haired man knew the boy was tired, but that had never stopped the blond from being a chatterbox, just for the sake to annoy him. _'So much like the younger me,'_ he thought, amazed how similar Naruto was to his much younger self. He then debated himself into asking the distressed boy.

Kurama lips thinned into a line. He had perfected a habit of talking less. _Or much too less than he wished he had._ He thought in chagrin how terrible he was in parenting and now, talking to someone was hard. Even if it was to the boy he raised since he was a baby. He was lucky that despite his inexperience parenting, Naruto turned out alright in his own way.

He mentally sighed, feeling annoyed with his growing frustration and he decided to just asked away, "Na—"

"Yuu-chan," Naruto piped up suddenly, startling the man. The man saw the troubled look on the teenager's face. Kurama then remembered a gesture he saw a mother did when her son confided in her earlier while he was building a shed for the woman at her backyard, and imitated it almost awkwardly. Naruto blue eyes widened in surprise when he felt a prompting hand on his shoulder. He felt speechless and nearly forgotten what he wanted to say. He dampened his surprise with a few gulps of deep breath and then smiled gently at his father figure.

"I—I have something to ask, but… it seemed like a forbidden thing…" Kurama had an eyebrow raised with a tinge of surprise on his face. He didn't want to rush the boy into talking. There was a short pause before Naruto continued, "Um, you see …I overheard… some people talking." Naruto gave a guilty grin at Kurama's disapproval look. "I was just curious and I don't know who else I should ask but …you," Naruto began to regret into talking about this, remembering how secretive Kurama was.

Kurama was the only person who knew of Naruto's keen senses. Although he didn't said the word, but Naruto knew the raised eyebrow and the sarcastic look said it all.

"I can't help it," Naruto defended. "Especially if it's a General Uchiha and Kisame-san is involved," Naruto pouted, folding his arms and turning his head to his side.

"Oh," Kurama hid his growing interest behind a sip of his drink. "What were they talking about?" Naruto grinned at Kurama's curiosity. If Kurama was annoyed, he managed to hide it behind the stoical mask he wore. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him as he picked up his own cup, drinking slowly while thinking.

"I don't know," Naruto breathed and hummed satisfyingly at the delicious hot chocolate Kurama made. It had soothed him a lot and gave him a sense of comfort since he was little. "Hmm, it was something about what sounded like a dangerous group and a person whose name seemed taboo to be spoken of," he said before taking another sip, slightly greedily this time.

"Who?" Kurama wondered aloud, befuddled.

"My thoughts exact, Yuu-chan," Naruto chuckled, placing his warm cup on the table.

"Did you catch their names?" asked Kurama, suddenly having a bad feeling. Naruto nodded. "Something like Akatsuki and Kyuub—"

The slamming hands on the table made Naruto jumped in his seat, staring shockingly at his guardian. He had never seen the man that angry before. The angriest he could remember was when Kurama caught his ten-years-old self eating seven cups of ramen in the middle of the night, yet that anger looked a lot more gentle compared to how Kurama was at the moment. The kitchenware rattled in its places, the water in the kettle was boiling and spilling, the window rattled askew and the air suddenly felt so thick, Naruto found it hard to breathe. He knew, despite never seen the man using magic, Kurama was a strong wizard. However, the dark aura and growing power displayed before him was enough to make the strong-willed Naruto to go petrified.

A scared choke from Naruto snapped Kurama out from his wrath. He rubbed his face in chagrin. The atmosphere lightened again and everything became still, but the things around the kitchen shifted slightly from its original places. Another stifled sob made him look at Naruto. His sense of guilt grew when he saw the blond was shaken and crying silently, staring at him in fright. He winced at terrible jerk from the boy when tried to reach for the boy but he pulled him into an embrace despite his reaction. He felt if he didn't do it, he would lose the boy forever.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. So sorry, so sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he swiftly took the boy in his arms, comforting him like he did when the boy was much younger. It was nostalgic and calming for him having the boy like that. Naruto buried his face into the side of his neck, clinging to his father-figure tightly like a lost child. To Naruto, he was all he had: his trust, his father, his family.

"I'm sorry, Yuu, please don't hate me. Don't hate me. I won't ask about that anymore. Don't hate me, please, don't leave me," Naruto begged like a child, damping Kurama's tshirt with his tears.

Kurama felt terribly guilty and saddened. Had he broke the boy that badly when he was a child? Had his attempt to leave the boy for good traumatized him that bad? He felt like an old wound had reopened, bleeding profusely. He knew how many barriers Naruto had placed in his heart when it came to other people and how close and trusting Naruto was towards him. Others had pushed him away, hating him for being a 'cursed being' yet Naruto still stood strong, unwavering. He learnt not to trust others and not to place hope. He knew he was Naruto's world, and over the years, Naruto too became an important person in his life. It was a terrifying thought if the boy were to disappear from his life. Many times he wished Naruto was of his own blood. Perhaps, that way he could protect him better. Perhaps, he wouldn't be this insecure.

It was his fault that Naruto was broken this way. He didn't fend off all the pain when the boy needed him until it was nearly too late. It was a bitter memory for him. It was at that time when he realized how much the boy meant the world to him. A tear managed to trickle down his cheek. He placed a comforting hand at the back of Naruto's head, consoling the boy.

"Hush, don't worry. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to hate you, Naruto. It's my fault. Not yours. I'm so sorry, Naru. Please forgive me," his voice was so gentle that Naruto began to relax in his embrace, his sobs became soft whimpers. A smile came on Kurama's face, his hand circling Naruto's back soothingly.

It was a while before Naruto shifted, leaning his cheek on the man's shoulder. Kurama was his place of comfort, affectionate, mischiefs and everything where he was allowed to be himself. He knew his guardian wouldn't betray him like how others would. "It's okay. I'm not upset. I'm glad you're not angry with me, Yuu-chan." His voice was slightly throaty from the crying but Kurama could hear his relief in his voice.

"Just promise me, Naru," he said solemnly, shifting the boy to look at him. He loved the vibrant blue eyes that were staring at him. He couldn't imagine what the future would bring if he were the one who would break the boy before him. "Don't pry into this anymore, okay?" It felt more like a promise for him rather than a comfort for Naruto.

Naruto hesitated but nodded, "Mm, I promise." Yuu had always been like a hero to him, like all fathers did for their sons and daughters. For him to react so fiercely, Naruto thought that even Kurama was afraid of Akatsuki and Kyuubi, and guessed he should too. He gave his guardian a hearty smile who surprised him again with another rare smile on his handsome face.

X

X

Naruto was in his room after a nice warm shower, putting on his pyjamas pants when he heard someone entered his room through the window. Picking an orange tank top and putting it on, he chuckled, "Sorry _Romeo_, but you went into the wrong room for your midnight visit." He turned and saw the famous Ichiraku Ramen take-out box in Sasuke's hand. He gasped aloud and ran to take it, "Oh _Romeo, my Romeo, _I'll be your Juliiieeeett."

Uchiha Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blond who had latched onto him like a leech. The noble teen made attempts on fending him off, muttering about a stupid idiot who couldn't keep his voice down and a scary, abnormally possessive guardian in the house. He passed the box at the eager blond who gladly took it and sunk on the comfy bed, his face buried into the mattress. He groaned in pleasure, feeling like all the damned problems were thrown out of the window and sleepiness finally engulfed him. "I seriously don't know how you can wake up from this bed every morning, Naru. I don't want to move anymore."

Naruto's azure eyes shone in amusement, taking the last gulp of his ramen and placing the box on his study table. "I'm not sure," he wondered, shifting in the chair. "I think the thought of Iruka's wrath if I were to show up late for work made me," He said remembering with a shudder. He then gave Sasuke a confused look, "Didn't Yuu-chan make you a bed like mine too but waaaay bigger?"

"Hn," he turned his head slightly to look at the blond accusingly, "Like I've always said before, that weirdo _hates_ me." He took Naruto's fluffy pillow and buried his face into it, yawning while trying his best not to fall asleep. "My bed might be three times bigger, but he didn't make it as comfortable as yours. He placed a spell where pointy stones will appear randomly in my bed. I had to remove it every time. It's really irritating."

"Really? Hmm… He seems fine to me. He never told me not to befriend anyone before. Even you," Naruto informed. Sasuke had told him many times previously how weird was his relationship with Kurama and even tried to convince him that the man might be a paedophile closet, but Naruto had laughed it off as a joke. He even said that he was the only family he had and Kurama had made lots of sacrifices and pains to rise him up. Sasuke tried to argue but the pleading look Naruto gave him ended the talk.

"Maybe that's true, but he's really possessive of you. Is that even normal? He treats me like I'm going to elope with his _daughter_ or something." Naruto scowled at being termed 'daughter'.

"Aaaanyway, what are you doing here? It's almost two in the morning you know." There was a long pause and Naruto was convinced that Sasuke had fallen asleep. He threw a fox stuffed toy he owned since he was a baby at the raven-haired noble who woke up with a start and gave him an icy Uchiha glare. Naruto merely snickered, "If you are so sleepy, why did you bother to come here and bribe me with Ichiraku's?"

"I'm sleeping over… tomorr—today's Saturday," he corrected, remembering the time. "I don't want that annoying _scarecrow_ to wake me up on my rare day off. He's a bloody sadist and a tyrant,"Sasuke spat, his voice muffled by the pillow. He rasped his throat when he remembered of his grey-haired mentor.

Naruto grinned, "I'm glad that my room is your secret hideaway but at least take off your uniform, Sas. I have your pyjamas somewhere." The young Major sighed aloud, slowly sitting up and did just that. After a while, Sasuke joined Naruto on the bed to sleep again as the blond read a manga magazine Sasuke brought earlier.

"You know," Sasuke piped up all of a sudden, breaking the long silence.

"Sheesh, Sas, I thought you were already asleep," Naruto rolled his eyes at him, earning a chuckle from Sasuke. The raven-haired noble didn't bother to open his eyes as he continued, "Remember the seal we saw in the library?"

That took Naruto's attention off the magazine he was reading. "Yea, did you find anything about it?" the blond asked. There was a pregnant pause.

"It's an ancient Whirlpool seal," Sasuke said sleepily.

Naruto eyebrows rose at the info, "This is the second time I've heard of Whirlpool today." Sasuke had an eye opened, probing at him. "Your brother was in bar with Kisame-san."

"_Aniki was with—_?" Sasuke went bewildered. "Why? What was aniki doing in there with—with _the_ Kisame?" Sasuke gave up on falling asleep and rolled over to lie on his front, propping an arm and leaning his chin into his palm. Naruto shifted his gaze to the ceiling, the magazine laid forgotten on his chest.

"I don't know," he said honestly, sighing forlornly. "Plus, I promised Yuu-chan not to talk about this. Sorry."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked; his voice was laced with concern. Naruto chewed on his lip, thinking hard on the matter.

"I'm not sure. Yuu-chan suddenly got so angry when I asked him about…" Naruto's voice fell silent when he spoke, "…Akatsuki and Kyuubi." He then cleared his throat aloud. "It's a very forbidden subject to him."

Sasuke gasped, "Akatsuki and Kyuubi?" Naruto turned to look at him, surprised that Sasuke's face fell into pity. "It's a painful subject to talk about. Everyone lost their precious someone because of that," Sasuke explained.

"Oh, so you do know about …._them_?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

Sasuke nodded, "More or less. I found a journal when I was searching about the Whirlpool seal. It was kept in a secreted slot in one of the shelf of my family's library. I could barely read it with all the burned and torn pages. I knew that aniki was a war hero who brought Akatsuki down… but…," he shifted slightly and sighed. Naruto knew from his facial expression that whatever he had read was not anything pleasant at all. He was glad that Sasuke didn't lose his emotions despite being trained and worked for the army. His resilient was one of his strongest traits. Sasuke had a bright future as a duke. "…I read about Kyuubi in there too."

Naruto was torn between prying into the matter and keeping his promise. He was known for keeping to his words, trying his best to never betray anyone but the look on Sasuke's face made his will wavered so much. Sasuke understood his worry and said, "Kurama-san must have had lost someone important to him. That might be the reason why it is a touchy subject to him."

"Maybe he did…. But how do you know about … this group?" Naruto asked, sitting upright on the bed.

"Well, if you _really_ did concentrate in _your_ history class, you'll at least know about the battle between the war-extremists and how everything ended in the Whirlpool seventeen years ago, Naru," Sasuke said sarcastically. Naruto pouted, feeling ashamed for not being able to connect the two dots together. "What the textbook told us was that the _notorious_ leader was so _greedy_ seeking for power died during the battle and aniki brought the _disreputable_ group into its downfall, unfortunately bringing down the glory days of Whirlpool along with it," there was creases of pain on Sasuke's face briefly, "There are plenty information that we didn't informed about. Like how that infamous group was named _Akatsuki_ and their leader was _Kyuubi_. Those names brought so much pain to the people that it was not written on most books but people still spoke of it, although just quietly. Also, the final power he—no, they sought for was the Namikaze royal sword ….and then, there was also the unfortunate death of the young Uzumaki-Namikaze prince…" Sasuke exhaled sadly, "…It was a terrible war."

There was a befuddled look on Naruto's face. He waited for Sasuke to continue but when the silence stretched, he decided to break it. "What's so special about the sword and why didn't the prince's death announced?" Naruto asked, noting how Sasuke closed his eyes and placed an arm over them. He looked uncomfortable and Naruto kept a mental note to ask about his reaction.

"The Namikaze sword is the strongest sword in the wizardry world. It doesn't only have an extraordinarily vast power, but it can also enhance the wielder's power too. When the only living Namikaze, King Minato decided to join with the Uzumaki Royal family through marriage with the Queen Uzumaki Kushina, the two small countries merged into one. Whirlpool became a fearsome country with both Namikaze sword and Uzumaki seal combined together. It was said that none of the Namikaze could wield the sword to their utmost potential for centuries since King Namikaze the First had died. The sword chooses its heir, not the other way around. The closest who could wield it was King Minato, the King Namikaze the fourth. There were rumours saying that their son was the chosen wielder, but the prince …died in the battle…." Sasuke's voice suddenly fell into a pained whisper, "…a few minutes after he was born."

Naruto's eyes went wide briefly in horror. His thoughts were abruptly wiped blank by the grief for the little prince. It was such a pity that he had died so young. Naruto then realize that the silent had stretched longer that it was before. "…how… how did he die?" Naruto gulped, suddenly feeling regret asking his curiosity aloud.

Sasuke's hiss confirmed his suspicion, it was definitely a terrib— "…he exploded into bits in front of the king's eyes…"

"Oh my god," Naruto gasped, covering his hands on his face.

"Mmhmm," Sasuke agreed, "Many said that the prince died, but in that journal, it was written that the family believed that he was taken away despite what the king saw. Even the king believed that his son was still alive somewhere. He didn't want to believe what he saw; saying that it might have been a high-level illusion spell. They had tried to find him for many years but they couldn't find him. Slowly, the search party eventually stopped all together. I guess they just lost hope. The journal ended there and it seemed the author torn and charred the book out of frustration. I guess this was the reason King Minato gave Whirlpool to Fire country. He didn't have the will to rule anymore and he had neglected many country affairs for the sake of his only son. There were mentions regarding the king's mental health. The author also wrote that the King felt bitter when the Whirlpool name was mentioned and now, here we are, with the country merged with Fire country and all divided among us nobles, and so on."

Sasuke turned to look at the blond, a smirk was on his face, "So…, do you like your living under the grace of the great Uchiha, dear civilian?"

"Pssssssh," Naruto rolled his eyes at the mischief, knowing that Sasuke was trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere in the room. "I'm utmost grateful that I'm under your _fair_ mercy, m'lord," his voice was full of sarcasm and he stuck his tongue out cheekily. "…as it is easy to please such bratty lord with dirt cheap, abundant tomatoes in this glorious land."

"Tomatoes are the greatest!" Sasuke choked, feeling annoyed as he launched at the unsuspecting blonde. They were wrestling and fell off the bed when suddenly a shout startled them, "STOP MAKING OUT AND GO TO BED! UCHIHA, FUCK OFF!"

"Geeeeez, your guardian weirds me out at times," Sasuke muttered, moving away as he tried to hide his blush in vain.

"That makes him Yuu, I guess," Naruto laughed and was about to go to bed when his alarm rang. "Great, I have to go to work," he glared at his clock, peeling off his pyjamas and put on his clothes quickly. "Don't worry about Yuu-chan, Sas. Just go to sleep. I'll be back at seven-thirty."

"Oh wait, Naruto," Sasuke pulled Naruto by the arm, making the blond to face him immediately. He took Naruto's wrist and aligned it with his own. Two identical seals were facing each other. "This is also a whirlpool seal," Sasuke began with an excited look on his face. Lately, Naruto noticed that Sasuke was borderline obsessed with anything related to the Whirlpool, be it magic seals, spells and history. "It is really unique. The stronger the bond shared by those who had this seal placed on them, the stronger the seal. It can only be broken by any hint of anxiety, doubt or hatred," he explained, completely missing the surprised look from Naruto, "… but since I'm an Uchiha…" he gave Naruto a mischievous smile and his sharingan flashed to life. The seal shone brightly and disappeared soon after.

Naruto was impressed and rubbed his wrist where the seal was placed. "Aww, Sas, I never knew you cared for me so much! I'm so happy you don't even hate me at all," he teased, earning an irritated glare and a slap on his shoulder.

"You're just too stupid. That's why I have no doubt, _dobe_," the raven-haired boy smirked at Naruto's annoyed look.

"_Teme..._" He punched Sasuke's arm which was successfully blocked by the raven. "Show off," he muttered good-naturedly before thanking him again gratefully for removing the curse and left to do his daily morning routine. Sasuke didn't hear him leaving because he had fallen asleep right before he landed on the comfortable bed.

X

X

Sasuke was still asleep when Naruto arrived home. Like most Saturdays, he had done extra grocery shopping. It was the day where his team decided to meet and did almost anything together be it studying or hanging around. This time, they had information to share. Naruto felt touched when Sasuke and Sakura had insisted and made it their mission to remove whatever spell that was placed on Naruto. He was lucky to have such good friend. He wondered how he would look and live without the scars on his cheek and the huge seal on his stomach that would only appear when it was in contact with magic. Would his and Kurama's life be much better if he became normal? He didn't want to be a burden to Kurama any longer because of him. He knew Kurama had withstood a lot of terrible things just because he had a cursed child in his care.

Naruto was nearly done preparing a large set of bento when Kurama entered the kitchen. "Good morning, Yuu-chan. I'll be done in a while." The man just grunted in reply, known to be bad-tempered in the morning for not being fully awake yet. "Okay, I'm done," Naruto placed the bento at a corner, untied his apron and hung it. He then took a sit at the table with Yuu. They soon began their breakfast together.

"I'll be going out this afternoon to meet some friends," Naruto informed after he had a few bites of his breakfast. Naruto inwardly grinned when he saw his guardian's brows twitched, feeling irritated. He knew Kurama was somewhat particular about manners on the dinner table; so much that sometimes Naruto wondered if he was from a high-class family long ago.

Kurama finished his breakfast and wiped his lips with a napkin before he spoke, "I'll be out too. Don't cause any trouble and have fun, _brat_. I'll leave the money on the table by the window as usual."

"Thanks, Yuu-chan," Naruto smiled gratefully as he took Kurama's plate and placed it on his. With Kurama out of sight, he then used his magic to wash the dishes while he prepared Sasuke's breakfast and carried it into the room. He knew Sasuke would know that the food was for him when he placed it on the table in his room. After brushing his teeth and changed into his pyjamas again, he crawled up to his bed, poking Sasuke to make space for him and fell asleep in an instant.

X

X

There was a flash of yellow eyes staring back at him before Sasuke woke up from his slumber with his sharingan activated. It was rare that his sharingan would activate when he was asleep. He hated when it happened because that would give him a bad migraine as soon as he woke up.

He tried to shift but something heavy was preventing him from moving. Looking down, his face paled when he saw Naruto was drooling on his shirt and was laughing funnily in his dream. Exasperated, Sasuke pushed Naruto aside and blenched at the wet drool on his shirt. "Urggh, that _dobe._" Making sure that Naruto had his alarm set, which he obviously didn't, Sasuke then left for shower and then ate the food on the table.

The note on the table made Sasuke realized how secretive and difficult Naruto could be. It may seem normal to others but Sasuke knew what it meant:

_Sweetheart, wake me up before you leave, k? Send my love to our lovely princess too. XOXO –heart- -heart- _

Okay, so it wasn't a _normal_ note. Sasuke burnt the scandalous note with his specialty magic fire, knowing that Naruto was just out to annoy him when he wrote that. Sasuke messed his hair-do with irritation and exhaled aloud. A tinge of sadness was on his face.

He knew that no matter what he said, Naruto would never want to show nor would he be around Sasuke in front of the public as his best friend. He was upset when he saw the blond belittled himself so much and mentioned how much a person like him would tarnish his perfect public image. Who he befriended was his own choice.

Apparently, Naruto did the same to the rest of his classmates but the blond was the more cautious towards him. _'It's the only way you could surpass your brother, you know.'_ He could still remember the way Naruto looked at him as he stated that so confidently. Sasuke punched him for using his weakness against him and didn't talk to him for days. Despite he had said many times that he wouldn't want to surpass his brother in that way, Sasuke finally swore to Naruto that if he could remove the seal or spell on Naruto, then Naruto would be friends with everyone publicly. The surprised look from Naruto was priceless.

It had been years since then but they only made nearly no progress as they were young and their resources were limited. They had postponed the mission until they were final years where they could access most part of the library as a senior. When Sakura joined in—although initially it was so she could spend more time with Sasuke—they found more leads than they both had. Unfortunately, despite all the researches, they managed to be top students from all their readings done but they still couldn't help Naruto and his unfortunate spell.

A flash of yellow eyes suddenly crossed his mind again. It was what woke him up that morning and it was what his sharingan had copied to remember when he and Naruto were in the library yesterday. Sasuke was certain that Naruto's blue eyes flashed yellow when the light glowed from the cracks in the forbidden section of the school's library.

Sasuke pressed his hand on his lips, musing softly, "I'm pretty sure Naruto's magic is blue in colour." In chagrin, he corrected his thoughts aloud again, "No, sometimes it's red too…" His eyes squinted when he remembered whenever Naruto's apparent boundless 'blue' magic finally at its limit, suddenly Naruto's blue eyes turned to slits and became red along with his magic too. He knew that usually a wizard's magical power was based on their soul quality and they usually had one colour. Rarely, there were two and the only chance that would happen was to a child who was born from the union of two powerful sorcerers.

Whenever his track of thoughts went that way, Sasuke couldn't help but to wonder who Naruto's biological parents were. He was amazed and envious with the size of his best friend's magic. His magical power was so thick yet silky, potent and abundant; a very high-quality magic indeed. Naruto's blue magic was shimmering like diamonds under the sun, mesmerizing and soothing. Sasuke never met anyone who had that kind of magical power. Even his wasn't as captivating but his magic was as strong too.

Sasuke bit his lips to suppress his growing jealousy for his best friend. He felt so small whenever he compared himself to Naruto. He was already having an inferior complex towards his brother. He knew Naruto never belittled him, ever, and yet by just looking at him performing any magical spell was enough to remind Sasuke bitterly how potentially powerful Naruto could be.

A scream of agony from Naruto broke his train of thoughts. Head swivelled, Sasuke went horrified when he saw Naruto was clawing his stomach to bleed and the large seal was activated again. Unlike before, the black seal was glowing burning red and was blistering on Naruto's skin. Sasuke dived to the side of the bed and shook Naruto to wake while screaming out his name in vain. Sasuke was confused. Naruto's eyes were shifting colors from yellow to red and he was in agony.

How should he help him?

What was going on?

What was that yellow magic doing in Naruto?

Where was Sakura when he needed her?

"Naruto! Please, please wake up! Wake up!" Sasuke's pleads were drowned by Naruto's pained scream and Naruto's voice broke halfway. He always felt so hopeless when it came to Naruto's pain. '_Why must Naruto have to always suffer? Why?'_

Far, far away from the little wooden house belonged to Naruto and Kurama, further away from Konoha city, beyond the mountains separating the Fire country and the-once Whirlpool country, in a magnificent yet old castle, a pendent glowed strongly in the trembling hands of ex-queen of Whirlpool. Her eyes were enveloped in tears and she was torn in confusion. Her lips quivered as her breath was short and quick.

Sensing his wife was about to have another hyperventilation attack, Namikaze Minato was at her side in a flash. His sparkling yellow magic disappeared like golden dust into the thin air. He froze when he saw the pendent was glowing yellow and red. His trains of thoughts were stopped by Kushina's sobbing and he saw her teary, violet eyes staring back at him.

"W-w-what does t-th-this—hic—m-means, Mi-minato?" she asked in between her sobbing. Minato shied his eyes away from hers out of shame for he too didn't know what was going on too. His blue eyes were staring hard at the glowing pendent and he held a finger on it, giving a tap. Suddenly, the pendent gave out a soft pop and the pendent became lifeless again as it had been for many years before. This was the second time since yesterday that the pendent had glowed. Rubbing his forehead at the growing headache, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Minato?" Kushina's wavering voice caught his attention again.

He sent her a small, sad smile. Giving her a loving hug and kissed her forehead gently, he whispered aloud, "I don't know, honey, I'm sorry, I don't know." Whatever it was, Minato prayed to God that it was a sign that his son was alive, somewhere. He closed his eyes, his eyebrows creased in pain when an agonizing memory of his new-born son burst to bits in front of him flashed in his mind. He held on to his wife's crying, shaking frame while he held back his own tears. _'Please God, please, let it be that my son is alive.'_

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><p><em>to be continued<em>

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PS. The update will come in a month time! Earlier if you guys are nice enough.. hehe. I'm really busy with this hectic, ridiculous schedule. sobsob

PSS. I don't know anything about alcoholic drinks and bars. I hope I got it right after all the homework I did.

Thanks for reading. Review! _–Wanderlust_


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